


Broken Trust

by FictionalDragonMother



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Emotional Manipulation, Gore, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Mind Control, broken trust, like really hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionalDragonMother/pseuds/FictionalDragonMother
Summary: When nanites infest the Team's Energon, things go horribly wrong.





	Broken Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Didn't mean for this chapp to be so long, took me 3 days to write. 3DAYS!

Jack rolled, ducking behind a large crate. His heart was pounding, pumping some much-needed adrenaline into his body. He pressed himself into the crate, trying to get some air into his lungs. He gripped the soft fabric of his shirt with a shaking hand, willing himself to still as he heard slow, loud footsteps draw near. Right now, he wished that it was a con that had him trapped.  
\-----------------------------------Hours Earlier--------------------------------

Miko poked the black pod, a curious expression on her face.  
“Soooooo… what is it?” She asked, kicking it softly.  
Bulkhead sighed and picked up his charge, lifting her away from the pod. Miko huffed, but didn’t fight, feeling tired from all the running she had done not half an hour earlier. The Autobots had gone after a signal that had popped up on the radar, and, as usual, she had tagged along without permission. And, as usual, Jack and Raf had followed.  
They had been fine for most of the mission, up until the end, when the Decepticons had ambushed them. The kids were fine, but they were a little shaken, especially Jack. A con had managed to grab him while he was trying to reach Arcee. But a well delivered punch to the helm had the con dropping the frightened teen in an instant. Said teen was currently patting Arcee’s leg, saying something that Miko couldn’t quite make out.  
Once she was a safe distance away, Bulkhead spoke.  
“I don’t know. No one does. We’re gonna wait till the doc and Smokey gets back before we investigate further, just in case it turns out to be dangerous.”  
Miko huffed again but didn’t protest. Space stuff could be really dangerous, and she would not be the one responsible for her friends getting hurt. Ratchet was going to be out for a few hours. Optimus had told him to take a break and to go alleviate the stress he was feeling, and Smokescreen had tagged along, just in case something happened, so she would try to be responsible, until she knew it was safe. She nodded, showing her understanding. Bulkhead gave her a relieved smile.  
Wandering over to the couch, she plopped down and laid down, eyes drooping as she watched Raf play videogames. Slowly, her eyes shut, and she was asleep, oblivious to the large servos placing a soft blanket over her.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a small crack that had begun to form at the back of the pod widened, allowing tiny black bits of metal to scurry out. They changed colour, matching their environment. Slowly, they made their way to where the Energon for drinking was stored, climbing up the sides of four of the cubes and drilling into them. One by one they landed in the electric blue liquid, disappearing from sight. Just as the last one entered the last cube, the door opened, and a pair of dark grey servos picked up the cubes.

 

Jack leaned back on the arm of the couch, making sure his legs didn’t hit Miko. He watched Bumblebee return from where ever he had gone, the yellow bot holding four bright blue cubes. Jack smiled softly. The bots had recently stripped an Energon mine, so they had plenty of the blue crystals to go around. Each bot grabbed a cube and began drinking, relaxed looks on their faces. Jack found himself feeling more relaxed as well, despite the events that had transpired earlier. He wasn’t quite relaxed enough to sleep however, so he turned his attention to Raf’s game, watching as the young boy rapidly tapped different buttons. He recognised the game, Mortal Combat, a quite gory fighting game. He thought Raf might be a bit too young to play it, but hey, he apparently never got to play games at home, so why not let him have some fun?  
Bumblebee wandered over and also watched Raf play, beeping in surprise when Raf got a brutal fatality. Jack grimaced slightly. Fighting games like Mortal Combat had never been for him, he always felt bad for actually killing his opponent, which was probably why he always lost to Miko and Raf. But still, watching gave him something do.

He watched for about an hour before a pained whine drew his and Raf’s attention away. Bumblebee was clutching his chest, near where his spark was. The scout shook his helm, like he was trying to clear his mind. He stepped back, optics quickly shutting.  
“Bee?” Raf asked quietly, panic under toning his voice.  
Jack frowned. Something was wrong with Bumblebee. He opened his mouth to call the others only to quickly shut it when he saw that they were in much the same state. Bulkhead was leaning against a wall, optics firmly shut and a grimace on his face. Arcee was almost clawing at her chest, and Optimus was down on one knee, face hidden from sight.  
“What- what is this?!” Arcee gasped, gritting her dentas.  
A concerned look came over Jack’s face. “Ar-arcee? What’s wrong?” he stuttered out.  
Arcee said nothing, becoming frighteningly still. One by one, the bots ceased all movement. Jack felt a sense of fear and dread wash over him. Something was very, very wrong here. Grabbing Raf’s hand, he slowly started backing up towards Miko, who was starting to wake up. Gently, he grabbed her arm, shaking her awake.  
“Guh- huh? Jack, why did you- “Her voice cut off as she saw the panicky, scared face on her normally calm and collected friend.  
Slowly, she got up and hid behind Jack, not liking the eerie silence. Glancing around, she saw the frozen forms of the Bots.  
“Jack,” she whispered, “what’s going on?”  
As soon as the words left her mouth, the bots stirred to life, but something was off. Their movements were slow, like they were waking up. The pained expressions were gone from their faces, replaced by blank expression. But what really scared the kids was their optics. Kind, familiar blue was replaced by dull, unnerving, hauntingly pure white orbs.  
Slowly, the bots turned to the kids, snarls forming on their dermas. Weapons unsheathed as they stood, growling. Jack’s pupils shrunk.  
“Run.” He whispered, backing up faster now.  
He almost froze when Optimus snarled at them, exposing his sharp denta. Any and all indications of humanity and kindness was gone from the Prime, replaced by predatory actions and feral growls.  
“RUN!”

 

\--------------------------------Present Time-----------------------------------

Jack supressed a whimper as the footsteps grew louder. He almost wished that he hadn’t told Miko and Raf to hide while he distracted the bots, because then at least he wouldn’t be alone. But Miko’s arm had been grazed, and Raf was on the brink of having a heart attack, and it would be awfully cruel and selfish of him. He hoped that they had found somewhere to hide.  
Peeking around the crate, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Arcee. Of course it was Arcee hunting him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. But when you had a 15ft alien robot trying to kill you, being calm was a very hard task. Suddenly, he heard a second set of footsteps, these ones much heavier. Jack felt his heart leap into his throat before dropping into his stomach, and he resisted the urge to vomit out of fear. Those footsteps belonged to none other than Optimus Prime himself.  
Jack cursed as softly as he could. That made things 10x harder. There was little to no chance of him escaping now. But, the door leading out of the base was right there. So close, that if he ran, he might reach it. Or, he would be blown to smithereens. But, if he stayed, there was a 50/50 chance of him being found and killed anyways, or them walking right past him. Taking a deep breath, he made his decision.

 

Raf typed furiously, eyes darting around almost constantly, stopping only to glance down or up. He was trying to make it so he could contact Ratchet via his phone, since neither he nor Miko had the grumpy medic’s number in their contacts. He only had Bee’s, and Miko only had Bulkhead’s. Finally, it worked, and Raf snatched his phone, booking it back to the air vents, where Miko was waiting with an outstretched hand. He jumped and grabbed her hand, making sure that he held on tight. Miko pulled him up, closing the vent grate behind him. With trembling fingers, he hit the call button, and waited. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. On the fourth ring, Ratchet answered, much to Raf’s relief.  
“Hello? Who is this?” Ratchet growled, and Raf had never been happier to hear his grumpy tone.  
“R-ratchet, it’s me, Raf. You and Smokescreen need to get back to base, like, RIGHT NOW!” His voice broke a little at the end, but he didn’t care.  
“What? Why?! What has happened?” He asked, and Raf could hear panic seeping into his voice.  
“The bots have gone crazy, they tried to kill us! And their optics are pure white!” Raf said, voice trembling.  
Ratchet made a panicked noise, and Raf could hear the screeching of tires.  
“Hold on Rafael! We’ll be back soon! I would tell you to open a Groundbridge, but I do not want to risk you drawing attention to yourself. Is Miko and Jack there with you?” He asked.  
“M-miko is, but Jack went off to distract the bots, so we could hide! I- I don’t know where he- he is!” He sobbed, tears falling once again. 

 

Miko hugged Raf, trying to comfort the small boy while fighting back tears herself. She felt her body stiffen as someone entered the room. Quickly, she snatched the phone with her good hand and whispered into the speaker.  
“Ratch, we gotta hang up. Someone’s in the room.” She said quietly, before hitting the hang up button.  
Now, it was just her and Raf. And, whoever was in the room with them. Peering out through the lines in the grate, she caught a flash of yellow. Bumblebee. She grit her teeth. There was almost no sneaking past Bumblebee, the scout was too observant, so any plans of activating the ground bridge were gone. She sighed softly and slumped against the wall of the vent, feeling tears drip down her face.  
She made no noise or movement when Raf scooted over to her side. His breathing was quiet, yet erratic. She lifted her injured arm slowly, wincing as she did so. Placing it on Raf’s shoulder, she drew him in closer.  
“When we fix the bots, I am giving them hell.” She muttered.

 

Jack sprinted for the door, hand outstretched. He heard movement behind him, but he ignored it.  
Big mistake.  
Just before he reached the door, a swift kick sent him flying. He let out a yell of pain as he hit the ground, rolling. He could feel blood soaking his shirt from his scraped arm and side, but he ignored it, springing to his feet. He almost didn’t feel the burning in his chest every time he took a ragged breath. He ran down the hallway, trying to tune out the snarls and growls and heavy footsteps and ohmysweetPrimustheyweregoingtocatchhimnonono!  
Quickly rounding the corner, he heard a loud THUMP as the two bots hit a wall, unable to turn fast enough. Jack took the rare opportunity and dashed away, skidding into a mostly empty room, diving behind one of the few crates in the room. A few moments later Optimus and Arcee stomped past him, not even bothering to investigate the room.  
Jack collapsed against the crate, chest heaving. He pulled up his shirt, needing to see the damage. He sucked in a sharp breath, grimacing. A huge dark red and purple bruise covered his midsection, and he was sure that there was more than one broken rib. Blood gushed from a cut in his belly, staining his shirt. Suddenly, the pain hit him full force, and he couldn’t stop the whimper of pain and fear that escaped his lips.  
He pulled his aching legs up to his bruised and battered chest, hugging them. He felt tears well up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. It had been a long time since he had last cried. He didn’t cry over many things, but this? This was something to cry about. He let the tears fall, feeling panicked sobs rise in his chest, and he found it hard to force oxygen into his lungs. Part of him just wanted to lie down and accept that he was probably dying, but the other, stronger half insisted that he fight. Help would come. Ratchet and Smokescreen would be back soon, he just needed to hold out till then.

 

Miko opened her eyes, blinking away whatever sleepy feelings remained. When had she fallen asleep? Slowly, as to not wake Raf, she crept over to the grate and opened it. Glancing around, she found that the room was empty. Grabbing Raf’s phone, she saw quite a few missed calls from Ratchet. She winced. Poor docbot must be so worried. Tapping on his contact, she waited for Ratchet to answer. This time, the response was almost instant.  
“MIKO! RAF! ARE YOU TWO ALRIGHT?!” He demanded, voice now full of worry.  
Miko held the phone a little ways away, not fully expecting that much volume.  
“We’re… well not really okay, but we’re still alive?” She tried, a nervous smile on her face.  
Ratchet vented hard, a relived noise that Miko was glad to hear.  
“That will have to do I suppose. Miko, do you think you could bridge us in without drawing too much attention to yourself?” he asked.  
Miko grinned. “Sure thing docbot! What do I need to do?”

It had taken a little while, but Miko had gotten the hang of the Groundbridge controls. She hopped over to the lever, glad to know that this whole nightmare would soon be over. She reached up to grab it, stretching her arm.  
“MIKO LOOK OUT!”  
“Huh- OOMPH!”  
A dark grey digit clipped Miko’s stomach, enough to send her stumbling back, phone clattering to the floor and shattering. Her body acted on instinct as she scrambled to her feet. She paled when she saw her attacker.  
“Bulkhead, no!” She said softly.

 

“MIKO LOOK OUT!”  
Jack bolted up, causing new pain to blossom in his chest. As quickly as he could, he pushed himself off the floor and ran towards the shout. His body begged him to stop, to rest and heal, but he couldn’t, not when his friends needed his help. He grit his teeth as he felt a surge of adrenaline course through him, giving his tired legs an extra boost.  
Rounding the corner, Jack felt his blood freeze. Bulkhead was about to swipe at Miko! A burst of anger made him narrow his eyes and make a decision that would most likely come back to bite him in the ass in the very near future. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and dashed into the room.  
“HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!” He yelled, hurling the fire extinguisher at Bulkhead.  
It didn’t even slightly dent the ex- wrecker’s armor, but it got his attention. The green bot turned to Jack, an angry snarl on his face. Jack paled slightly, before steeling his face and turning to run, sprinting back down the hallway.

Miko almost called out to Jack, but decided against it. Calling out would only draw Bulkhead’s attention back too her, and that was NOT something she wanted right now. She shuddered at how close her best friend had been to squishing her. Would she ever be able to look at Bulkhead without seeing that… honestly terrifying look on him? She hoped so. Suddenly, she shook her head as she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She still had to open the Groundbridge! Dashing over, she jumped and put all her weight onto the lever, hissing as pain burned in her bad shoulder.  
The familiar multicoloured portal swirled to life, and Ratchet and Smokescreen came flying in, transforming before they had even entered the base. Ratchet skidded to a stop, looking around wildly, his body tense. Smokescreen was right by his side, weapons out.  
“Ratchet! Smokey! Oh, thank god! I thought we were gonna die before you guys could get here!” Miko cried, tears of relief forming at the corners of her eyes.  
Ratchet quickly scooped the girl up, scanning her over as Smokescreen retrieved Raf. The medic hissed in anger when he saw the burn on Miko’s shoulder. When he got his servos on whoever shot at the girl, he would be sure to beat some sense into them!  
Carefully, he tried to place her into Smokescreen’s servos, making sure to avoid touching her shoulder. Miko was hesitant to let go of one of his digits, however, and Ratchet gave her a pitying look as he felt her begin to tremble.  
“C-come on docbot, please don’t leave us alone again!” she pleaded, still holding on.  
Ratchet suppressed the urge to pick the two quivering younglings and hide them in his subspace, like he would for a scared sparkling. Instead, he gently pried Miko off and put her in Smokescreen’s servos before giving her a reassuring look.  
“Don’t worry Miko, I’m not going far. You will be safe with Smokescreen, but I need to find Jackson, AND I need to beat some sense into my teammates.” He growled.  
Just as he finished, a loud scream split the air, and Ratchet felt his spark twist in a most horrible way. He didn’t even recall moving, but suddenly he found that he was punching his leader and oldest, dearest friend. Optimus dropped the human he had been about to crush, stumbling back in surprise. Ratchet swiftly caught Jack before he hit the ground, wincing as the poor boy hit his servos. Hard.  
Jack yelped in pain, curling into a fetal position, and Ratchet didn’t blame him. The old medic kicked open one of the air ducts and stashed the human inside, taking extra care not to jostle the trembling boy. Turning back to Optimus, he saw that Arcee had joined him, and he could hear Bumblebee and Bulkhead running towards him. Ratchet let out a low growl and unsheathed his blades.  
“Optimus. Arcee. I do not wish to harm you, but if you do not cease your aggression immediately, I swear to Primus himself that I will not hesitate to knock you on your afts!” He threatened, lowering himself into an aggressive stance  
As he had expected, his threat did nothing to dissuade Optimus or Arcee. The two bots glared at Ratchet with their unnerving white optics, baring their dentas and growling. Ratchet let out a short huff and narrowed his optics.  
“Then so be it.”

Arcee made the first move, dashing forward blindly, claws reaching to try and rip Ratchet’s plating off. Ratchet dodged with practiced grace, side stepping the femme and nailing her in the side of the helm, sending her to the concrete floor. Optimus, it seemed, would be a bit harder. The large mech circled Ratchet carefully, looking for an opening Ratchet hoped he would not find. He only had a nanoclick to move before the Prime launched himself at the medic, his now strangely clawed digits scraping the protective armor covering Ratchet’s spark chamber. A nanoclick later, Ratchet slammed his fist down onto Optimus’s helm, barley missing his neck cables. The Prime smashed into the ground, going into recharge, as Ratchet had managed to hit a very delicate spot on the base of his helm.  
Low growls drew his attention to the remaining mechs, who were rounding the corner. Bumblebee bristled and hissed, lunging forward. Ratchet retrieved a wrench from his subspace, hurling it at Bumblebee. It hit the young scout right in the processor, leaving him stunned. Ratchet took the opportunity and hit Bumblebee in the same spot he hit Optimus. The yellow bot’s optics dimmed slightly as he hit the ground, still and unmoving. He would be feeling that one for a while.  
He drew his optics away from Bumblebee, only to get a face full of fist. The force behind the punch had Ratchet hitting the wall at the opposite end of the room with much force. Shaking his helm, he stumbled to his pedes, a determined look in his optics. Staring down Bulkhead was like starring down a huge, aggressive bull that also happened to be one of your best friends. The green mech snarled and charged, thundering towards Ratchet. However, before he could make it even halfway, a shot of plasma hit his leg, tripping him. Smokescreen stood about 20 feet away, still holding the children in one hand. Miko was covering her eyes as Raf buried his face in her stomach, both children still shaking. As quickly as he could, he hit Bulkhead’s sensitive spot, knocking him out. Ratchet vented in relief, feeling the fight drip out of him. He swiftly made his way back to the air vent, where Jack was waiting for him, eyes blown wide and body shaking so hard it was like he was vibrating. The boy turned his head and coughed, and Ratchet let out a choking gasp when he saw crimson liquid splatter against Jack’s elbow. The eldest teen blinked owlishly at the blood, before promptly passing out. Ratchet had him in his servos before his head hit the ground.

 

Jack blinked tiredly, his mind still trying to wake up. Sweet Primus, why did everything hurt so much? Slowly, he sat up, hissing when he felt the pain in his chest explode. Clutching his heart, he fully opened his eyes.  
He was on a small cot, medical machines beeped and whirred all around him. He saw an IV tube had been put in his arm, and he watched as the clear liquid dripped into his body. Looking down, he saw blood-soaked bandages around his chest and back, and a few on his arms. Gently, he rubbed his eyes as the memory of what had happened came back. Right, his best friends and guardians had gone nuts and tried to kill him and his other friends. Nice.  
A jolt of fear ran through him. He didn’t feel safe here, not anymore. Something inside him clawed at his mind, telling him to get out. Slowly, he removed the IVs and monitoring patches from his body. Spotting one of his spare outfits beside his cot, and realising that he was only in his boxers, he quickly got dressed, face flushed despite all the blood he lost. Walking forward, he peeked around one of the machines. Ratchet was absorbed in whatever he was doing, beside him was the unmoving form of Optimus Prime.  
He felt his body freeze as he remembered how close the Prime had come to crushing him. If Ratchet had been a few seconds later…  
He shook his head, wincing as he felt pain bloom in his skull. If he hadn’t experienced it first hand, he never would have thought the mech capable of inflicting such trauma and pain on one of his allies, one of his friends.  
Today had taught him that whatever sense of safety and trust he had felt with the Autobots could be easily broken. Right now, he was nothing short of terrified of the beings that had he had once considered family. It was easy, too easy, to forget that these were giant, mechanical aliens that could flick you, and you would end up a splatter on the wall. To think that if he had gone to sleep only hours ago, trusting the Autobots to protect them, he, Miko and Raf most likely would have died.  
No, he wouldn’t, couldn’t stay here, not until he got some of that trust and safety back. Even being in their presence was making him afraid. So, he backed up, keeping his eyes locked onto the still forms of the downed Cybertronians, body ready to turn and run at the slightest indication of movement.  
“Jack? Are you okay?”  
He jumped and wheeled around, instantly regretting the move as he felt his knees almost buckle. Kind, strong hands grabbed him, supporting him. Miko was starring at him, worry written all over her face. Jack exhaled a shaky breath, leaning into his friend.  
“Honestly? No. I want out of here, I really don’t feel safe right now.” He said, voice weak and whimper-like.  
Miko grimaced and nodded, glancing at where Bulkhead was.  
“Yeah, I feel ya. But your body? Seriously fucked up right now. Hatchet said that you weren’t supposed to wake up till tomorrow dude. And there is no way I’m letting you go home, your mom is out of town for two weeks, remember?”  
He did remember. He had been so excited to hang out at the base more. Now the thought made him want to run far, far away.  
“Jackson? What in Primus’s name do you think you’re doing out of bed? Get back there.” Ratchet admonished, servos brushing Jack’s back as he went to scan him.  
Jack jumped and screamed, stumbling back. He raised his arm instinctively, using the other one to keep him from hitting the cold floor. His breathing was erratic, and his eyes were the size of dinner plates.  
Ratchet froze when he heard the teen scream. When he saw his scared, broken expression, he felt his spark twist and burn, guilt and anger filling him. Guilt from scaring Jack, and anger at his team for traumatizing the poor boy. He was hesitant to move, even as Jack scrambled as fast as he could to his feet, in fear of causing him to injure himself. He watched with a pained, pleading look as Jack backed himself against a wall, the boy never taking his fearful gaze off the medic.  
Carefully, he nudged Miko back, who was staring at Jack, stiff as a board. He stood slowly, keeping his hands out in front of him, trying to seem as least threatening as possible. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Smokescreen ran in.  
“Are you guys okay?! I heard- “Jack’s spark piercing scream cut him off as the teen bolted, slamming the door to the base behind him.  
“Pit fraggin slaggit Smokescreen! He’s going to get himself seriously injured out there! Or worse, killed! Go after him, but for Primus’s sake, don’t scare him!” Ratchet roared, smashing a fist down onto one of the consoles. The noise awoke Raf, who let out a yelp of fear as he almost fell off his bed.  
Smokescreen started to transform, but Miko stopped him.  
“WAIT! If you go chasing after him, that will only traumatize him more! Let me go, he still trusts me.” She reasoned.  
Sighing, Ratchet rubbed his helm, a sad, tired look on his face. He nodded, and Miko dashed out of the base. Raf hopped off the bed carefully and ran after her, not exactly feeling comfortable staying, just in case something went wrong. Just as he closed the door, the others began to stir.  
Smokescreen brought out his blaster, and Ratchet unsheathed one of his blades. Carefully, he approached Optimus’s berth, optics narrowed. Slowly, Optimus opened his optics, revealing their sky-blue colour. Ratchet vented, sheathing his blade. He offered Optimus a servo, helping the dazed mech to sit up, the others sluggishly doing the same.  
“Ughhh… what, what happened?” Optimus moaned softly, rubbing the back of his helm.  
Ratchet’s face turned into a stern frown. “Nanities, and aggressive ones at that. Because you and the others neglected to scan your Energon cubes for any foreign contaminants, the nanities were able to infest your processers, turning you into killing machines. Bulkhead almost shot Miko and Raf, effectively singing Miko’s left shoulder and later gave her a nasty cut on her stomach, Bumblebee nearly gave them a panic attack, Arcee chased Jack for 2 hours and ended up kicking him into a wall, and Optimus, you nearly killed Jack when you tried to crush him.”  
Optimus froze, his optics growing huge. He slapped a hand to his mouth, a look of pure horror and guilt flooding his face. Energon gathered at the corners of his optics as Ratchet’s words sunk in.  
“I did what?!” He whispered, pain evident in his voice.  
Arcee was having a very similar reaction. Tears streamed freely down her face as she sat there, frozen. She looked down at her pedes, and almost emptied her tanks when she saw her partner’s blood splattered on the blue metal.  
Bumblebee was hugging himself, servo’s digging into his arms as he tried to stop shaking. He knew how dangerous panic attacks would be. He had promised Raf that he would protect him from such things, but now he had been the cause of the very thing he had sworn to protect his tiny friend from.  
Bulkhead was tempted to rip his blasters right out of his arms. What kind of sparkless monster fired at sparklings?! And then he had attacked Miko further? He felt more like a Decepticon than an Autobot right now.  
Optimus felt his plating rattle. Guilt slunk along his insides like heavy sludge, dripping into his spark and burning it. He felt like lashing out at someone, but who could he even consider attacking other than himself. He had broken one of the most basic, scared rules of being an Autobot on Earth. Never harm a Human. And yet, because of his negligence, he had almost killed three children. No, they were more than that. They were his family, Jack especially. He felt a sort of bond to the boy, not unlike what a Sire felt towards his sparkling. So to learn that he had almost been the one responsible for Jack’s death broke him inside. He could see bits and pieces of the fuzzy memory, Arcee kicking him into a wall, Jack running away, hitting the wall, grabbing himandohnonononononolethIMGOLETMYSPARKLINGGO  
Gripping his helm, he felt his claws that he almost always kept retracted dent the hard metal. He looked at his servos and had to repress the urge to purge his tanks when he saw that one of them was coated in dried blood.


End file.
